Outdoors: Bill to give red drum, spotted seatrout and striped bass game-fish status still alive as part of study

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Monica Holland, Fayetteville Observer

Lost in the drama of the state Legislature's back-and-forth budget bill bickering during its last session was an issue that could change the face of coastal sportfishing in North Carolina.

House Bill 353, aimed at giving game-fish status to red drum, spotted seatrout and striped bass - making them available to hook-and-line harvest only, off limits to commercial fishermen and illegal to sell - didn't reach resolution before the General Assembly's session ended. But the bill has found a home underneath the umbrella of a new study committee made up of four members of the House and four members of the Senate, who will report findings at the May 2012 short General Assembly session.